In this episode of the Civilnet podcast, Patrick Elliott speaks with Astghine Pasoyan of Armenia’s Energy Saving Foundation regarding the country’s energy sector. They discuss Armenia’s overreliance on Russia for power and its ambitious plans to increase adoption of renewable resources like solar and wind. Listeners will gain valuable insight into Armenia’s strategies to bolster energy security and transition to greener solutions.
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Pashinyan’s Ruthless Dilemma: A Talk With Ronald Suny
Ronald Grigor Suny, Distinguished University Professor of History at the University of Michigan, Emeritus Professor of Political Science and History at the University of Chicago, and Senior Researcher at the National Research University – Higher School of Economics in Saint Petersburg, Russia, sits down with CivilNet’s Eric Hacopian to talk about Armenia’s domestic and regional challenges. Professor Suny holds Russia responsible for betraying Armenia during the ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023, and criticizes the U.S. for not taking practical steps to prevent autocratic Azerbaijan’s aggression against the democratic Armenian enclave.
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Celebrating 100 Years of Armenian Ballet
By Vartan Esenyan The Opera-Ballet Studio in Alexandropol-Leninakan (now Gyumri) became a vibrant hub for the arts from 1923-1926. It attracted distinguished artists such as Sharar Talyan, Haykanush Danielyan, Alexander Melik-Pashaev, and Levon Isakyan. This period saw the staging of world-renowned classical operas and operettas, including Bizet’s “Carmen,” Gounod’s “Faust,” and Kalman’s “Silva,” alongside numerous children’s operas. The first Armenian ballet production, “Gayane,” written in 1939 by Aram Khachaturian, premiered in 1942. It’s famous for its “Sabre Dance.” Aram Khachaturian’s “Spartacus,” winner of the Lenin Prize for composition, is another significant work that has been performed internationally and remains a […]
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Modern approaches for mental health recovery: Hovhannes Nikoghosyan
This episode explores the life of Hovhanness Nikoghosyan, from his childhood and education in Armenia and the US, to his life as the Executive Director of the Armenian Spiritual Revival Foundation, established by Noubar Afeyan in collaboration with the Armenian Apostolic Church. We explore important topics such as leadership, spirituality and the foundation’s work. Finally, Hovhannes shares his views on the importance of the church, history, human connections and working with grace. About Hovhannes Nikoghosyan Hovhannes Nikoghosyan is the Executive Director of the Armenian Spiritual Revival Foundation, an organization whose mission is to transform modern approaches to mental health recovery […]
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CivilNet Joins Meta’s Third-Party Fact-Checking Program in Armenia
CivilNet became the first Armenian news organization Tuesday to join Meta’s third-party fact-checking program in Armenia. CivilNet, whose fact-checking department has been certified by the non-partisan International Fact-Checking Network, will employ native Armenian language fact-checkers to review and rate the accuracy of content in Armenia. “CivilNet established a dedicated fact-checking unit in December 2021 to advance fact-checking journalism in Armenia. Our mission is to combat fake news, misinformation, and manipulation while educating the public about these issues. We are glad to start our fact-checking work on Facebook and Instagram, which remain key social media platforms in Armenia,” said Apo Boghigian, […]
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Advocates welcome landmark overhaul of Armenia’s domestic violence law
By Paul Vartan Sookiasian An overhauled version of Armenia’s domestic violence law went into effect Monday, a landmark move that the bill’s author and women’s rights advocates told CivilNet represents a crucial step toward combating gender-based violence in the country. As a result, advocates told CivilNet, many more people experiencing domestic violence in Armenia will have protection under the law and gain access to sorely needed resources. It marks the first time any significant changes have been made to Armenian domestic violence legislation since the original law was passed in 2017. The new package of amendments is the product of […]
